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Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World, Vol. 4

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By Kei Sazane and Ao Nekonabe. Released in Japan as “Kimi to Boku no Saigo no Senjou, Aruiwa Sekai ga Hajimaru Seisen” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jan Cash.

I’ve come to realize that Our Last Crusade falls into the same bucket that I put Strike the Blood and the complete works of Ichiro Sakaki, which is to say a series that does not stand out as all that good but succeeds by dint of being smoothly written and not really doing much that’s bad. It feels written in hopes of an anime, which is good news given that there’s one airing as I type this. Sadly, I was not able to get very far into it, mostly as I can tolerate characters like Mismis when they are words on a page, but find it almost impossible when they are tripping and falling onto their boobs in glorious color. This particular book picks up right where the last one left off, but manages to avoid sending our heroes into deathtrap number four and sends them on a vacation instead. Of course, where Iska goes, Alice is soon to follow… though not alone this time.

As hinted by the last cliffhanger, this volume features Sisbell, the youngest of the three sisters who are vying for the throne. Due to the nature of her powers, and the general scumminess of humanity, she has come to distrust everyone around her, especially her two sisters, Elletear and Alice. the only one she feels she can trust is the man who rescued her from the Empire one year previously – Iska. As for Iska and company, they’re sent on a forced vacation after the higher-ups realized how ,long they’d been in enforced combat. Which is very good news for them, as this gives them time to figure out what to do about Mismis’s Astral Crest. The group, after a long shopping scene that reminds me why this series tends to grate on me, heads to an independent desert nation that consists mostly of resort hotels. Sisbell is also there, and propositions Iska: will he join her? Unfortunately, the villain of the second book – and his mask – have also shown up.

Given the entire series deliberately runs on coincidences constantly bringing Iska and Alice together, I am not all that annoyed at events conspiring at the last moment to save Mismis form execution, and anyone and everyone showing up at the same desert city. And I was glad that we briefly got to see Mismis do a thing, even if it was unconsciously and we’re not really sure what she did. Sisbell is sympathetic, and I expect to see more of her as the books go on, though I’m almost positive she will serve as hostage fodder in some way. The ending fight with what amounts to a giant robot with lasers is a lot of fun and will likely look cool if the anime gets to this book. As for the romance between Iska and Alice, they’re separated most of the book again, so it’s mostly just constantly thinking about each other.

The cliffhanger, which is again excellent, implies that events are going to be headed towards the Alice side of the two nations for a while. Till then, enjoy a book that can best be described as “serviceable”, but at least also lacks the bad habits of many other light novels. It’s okay.

Bibliophile Princess, Vol. 4

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By Yui and Satsuki Sheena. Released in Japan as “Mushikaburi-hime” by Ichijinsha Bunko Iris NEO. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Alyssa Niioka.

Last time I wrote about how the author of Bibliophile Princess seemed to be running out of ideas, and that the third book was, in large part, a retread of the first book. Apparently between that book and this one, according to the Afterword, the author’s writer’s block got even worse. So, if nothing else, this shows that sometimes a huge amount of pressure can be good for a person, as the fourth volume of Bibliophile Princess is the best in the series to date. Finally accepting that she can’t simply write the same love story over and over again, this time around politics, which have always simmered in the background of every book, come front and center and put Elianna in a position where she has to make decisions on her own in a crisis. All of this without Chris at her side – he’s busy trying to resolve things with the kingdom’s longtime enemy. And another subplot that’s been burbling underground through all the books finally comes to the surface, and it’s terrifying.

Elianna is being sent to Ralshen, a region that, for historical, political, and religious reasons does not have the best relationship with Sauslind. She’s taking Chris’ place as he’s negotiating some sort of peace deal with the war-loving Maldura. A lot of the nation’s past is explained to Elianna (and the reader) in this book; she’s already aware of it, of course, but needs to see how this affects things politically. There’s also a couple of examples of failed marriages, in particular one between a King and a Queen who disagreed over policy decisions, and Elianna is asked, if she and Chris came to such a crisis, what would she do? She’s not sure, frankly, and I don’t blame her – she’s only just come to terms with her feelings for Chris, and so far they’re pretty much agreed about most things.

We meet one of Elianna’s childhood mentors – a friend of her grandfather’s who she calls “Grandpa Teddy”, he’s also a general who has seemingly been supporting her relationship with Chris. But that ends here, and you are once again thrown up against the fact that the Bibliophile Princess world is so political that marrying for love is not something that can happen very often. Elianna finds her upcoming marriage to Chris is also a political marriage, and one that, in the past, has always led to war. She’s not going to let that happen, but it’s hard to buck tradition. Along the way, there’s mysteries to solve, which allows her to do the now-traditional scene where she looks at a book – or, in this case, a painting – and tells everyone what really happened. As for the crisis at the end, I won’t spoil, but it’s been hinted at since the beginning, and leads to an especially nasty cliffhanger.

There is a fluffy short story at the end, taking place mostly about 2 years prior to the main action. It’s OK, but honestly after that cliffhanger it feels out of place. In the meantime, Bibliophile Princess has grown up, much like its heroine, and I can’t wait to see where Vol. 5 takes us.

Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town, Vol. 3

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By Toshio Satou and Nao Watanuki. Released in Japan as “Tatoeba Last Dungeon Mae no Mura no Shonen ga Joban no Machi de Kurasu Youna Monogatari” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

This book continues to get the little things right. The humor is still very solid, and the main reason to read the series. The characterization is not really deep but it is fun, and it was nice to see the one main character I dislike get buried upside down in the dirt by the end of the book. The individual; situations, scenes, etc. are well-handled, and I really like the way that the action scenes are not just “Lloyd does everything” but have the rest of the cast all taking turns to take down the monster. That said, I have concerns about the main plot of the series… does it have one? There are more dark hints of future badness, as we meet another of Lloyd’s hometown friends who seems to be working for a Big Bad, but… look, this is a book where our hero is sent to a hotel in the country to be a bellboy. And it’s only Vol. 3.

An acquaintance of Chrome’s who is an ex-military man who now owns a hotel is desperate for staff, and so Lloyd is loaned out for their holiday season. Naturally, Lloyd is a one-man staff just by himself, instantly doing everything. Also naturally, all the rest of the cast separately make their way there as well. Riho wins at the horse races and treats herself to a luxury hotel; Selen is attending an arranged marriage meeting, much to her irritation; Allan is ALSO attending an arranged marriage meeting, and the dots can be fairly easily connected; and there’s a mysterious being draining the life force of people in the area, so Mena and Phyllo get sent to investigate. As it turns out, lots of people are investigating this. Good thing that Marie arrives to be a master detective. Which she totally is, uh huh. She’s not just here to see Lloyd or anything.

So there is a plot of sorts to this book – investigating who is behind the tree monsters that are draining life forces. Sadly, the culprit is not hard to guess. More importantly, aside from occasional hints that bad things will happen in a later book, I’m not sure where this series is headed. The second book added in a fighting tournament, and the third book took us on the road, so clearly “life at military academy” is not the goal here. Of course, the goal is Lloyd and his unique combination of total overpoweredness and ridiculous self-deprecation. And I do appreciate that the other characters are allowed to do their own thing and are not just a harem (though there’s aspects of that as well). It just sometimes feels like the fastest paced “slow life” series around. I wish it had more at its core than “be silly”.

Which is an odd thing to say about a broad comedy, and it’s possible I’m just being too grumpy. For most people, this is a fun and goofy comedy with lots of cute girls. Oh yes, and Lloyd too. Who, for this volume only, I like to imagine is voiced by Keith Moon.